Bottom dump skip



June 9, 1959 w. G. WOLFE BOTTOM DUMP SKIP Filed July 27, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR WILL/AM GERALD WOLFE.

ATT'YS June 9, 1959 w. G. WOLFE 2,889,947

I BOTTOM DUMP SKIP Filed July 27, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /N V E N TOR WILL/AM GERALD WOLFE.

United States Patent BOTTOM DUMP SKIP William G. Wolfe, Orillia, Ontario, Canada, assignor m E. Long Limited, Orillia, Ontario, Canada Application July 27, 1955, Serial No. 524,719

' 4 Claims. (Cl. 214-103 This invention relates to a method and means for dumping mine skips.

There is herein described means for dumping mine skips of the type having flanged wheels at the front and rear for running on sloping rails provided therefor. The bottom of the skip includes a pivotally opening member wherein the pivoted bottom is normally supported in closed position by a pair of flanged wheels which trail the pivot point in the upward travel of the skip and which ride on the mine skip rails. Such a skip is known as a back opening dump skip. The sloping mine skip rails are, however, provided with a depressed extent relative to the normal rail angle of ascent while beside the rail over this depressed area are auxiliary rails which align with the straight normal course of the skip rails. The fore and aft wheels of the skip as opposed to the intermediate wheels are provided with an extra set of flanges which are adapted to overlie the auxiliary rails. Thus when the skip passes over the depressed area, the fore and aft wheels maintain their normal location relative to the upward slope while the intermediate supporting wheels fall into the depressed contour. The result of this movement allows the pivoted portion of the bottom supported by the wheels, to dump its load into a convenient material handling area located beneath the depressed area in the rail.

This invention deals particularly with mine skips which are raised along a sloping track and whose loads are to be discharged at an upper or an intermediate upper level relative to the point of loading.

The invention utilizes the principle of dumping the load from the back or lower end of the skip load container, so that such container need only be rotated through a small angle out of the normal line of travel of the skip and doing it in a short hoist rope travel. This is opposite to the present practice of dumping from the front or top end of the skid load container, which means moving the load upward, outward and downward through an arc of some ninety degrees and requiring some twenty feet of hoist rope travel.

With such a back dump skip the entire weight of the skip is on the hoist rope at all times thus allowing for formal safety dog operation. In the present practice of (front dumping, the skip container falls away and detracts from the weight suspended by the hoist rope thereby causing a very likely possibility of the skip safety dogs becoming engaged in the skip rails and thus arresting the downward travel of skip with the resultant damage to hoisting equipment.

Moreover the bottom dump skip can discharge its load at eighty degrees from the horizon, whereas the front dump skip can hardly be made to discharge at more than forty-five degrees to the horizon.

Another feature of the inventive skip is that, owing to its short dumping distance, the height of headframes can be materially reduced with a corresponding reduction in building cost.

Also a feature of the inventive skip is that it can be 2. made to dump at more than one point on its upward travel. Such a skip could bring muck from a low level, discharge it for fill at an intermediate point, then pick up another load, say of ore, and take it on up to a second point of discharge, all without changing the direction of travel, whereas present skip types require a hoist to be reversed to bring the container out of the dumped position.

It will also be noted that dump skips in accord with this invention can be operated in trains of more than one, thus if a mine starts out with one, a second can be added thus doubling the hoisting capacity with no change in the dumping station, providing there is sufficient overwind allowed. In fact, these skips can be used as mine main haulage way cars in trains if it is desired to do Self cleaning is allowed with the inventive skip since loading is performed through one end of the container and discharge of the load through the other. The constant travel of material through the container acts to keep the container clean. In front dumping skips loading and discharge takes place through the upper end of the container so that the lower closed end thereof becomes clogged necessitating interruption of the normal skip operation for cleaning from time to time.

In the drawings:

Figure lshows a mine skip on an incline with the intermediate wheels supported in position;

Figure 2 shows a partial cross-section at right angles to the mineskip track;

Figure 3 shows the mine skip cart in dumping position; while Figure 4 shows a corresponding cross-section at right angles to the rail path showing the position of the rearward and the intermediate wheels.

In the drawings a skip cart 10 has a drag attaching means 11 and is provided with a pair of front wheels 12 and a pair of rear wheels 14. The body construction of the cart is of generally rectangular shape including fore and aft channels 16 which are adapted to support the pivoted portion of the bottom which includes in a rigid structure a material handling bin generally shown at 18. The material handling bin is pivotally mounted on the channel 16 at 20 and is supported in the position shown in Figure 1 by intermediate wheels 22 which are pivotally mounted on the material handling bin 18. Pairs of wheels 12, 1'4 and 22 are suitably flanged to run on the mine skip rails 24 as shown in Figure 2. In addition to the flange to contact rail 24, wheels 12 and 14 are provided with an additional flange 26 to be hereinafter discussed. Material handling bin 18 has a normally closed pivoted cover 30 which is pivotally connected to the main bin structure at 32. A linkage 24 pivoted to the main frame at 36 and to the material handling cover at 38 ensures that the cover 30 is tightly closed in the position shown in Figure 2.

As clearly shown in Figures 2 and 4, there is steadying means for the mine skip provided by rails 40 formed by rectangular pieces of lumber running parallel to and horizontally disposed to the normal mine skip path. Flanges 42 on the mine skip channels 16 overlap above and below this rail and form a U-shaped channel clearing the rail. tial derailment co-operation between the U-shaped channel and the wooden rail provides steadying means for the mine skip.

are auxiliary rails 41 lying in the path of the auxiliary flanges 26.

In the event of any rough operation of poten-- In operation of the mine skip when the mine skip reaches the area where the depressed extents 28 and 27 exist, the intermediate Wheels are depressed to remove the support for the normally closed bin while the cover is caused to rotate in the opposite direction by itsiconnection withlinkage 34., Onthe-other hand the wheels 14.and.16;are ,,provided. with auxiliary fiangfis 5 which ride-onthe rails-A1. and do. notfalljinto the -de pressed area so that the dumping .action .ta.kes,=,pla;ce, solely by theaction I of the intermediate wheels whilet the. fore and aft wheels remain atutheanormal.heightnof the skip.

In Figure 1 is also shown a safety lock arm 56 pivotally mountedon the skip frame and adapteitoco-operate with a stop.52 on the cover- 30 to prevent dumping of i the. skip when. in contact with. suchistop such lock. arm 50 is used .to prevent dumping ofpthe skip when wheels 22 pass,over a depressed railgarea when men are carried in the skip.

I claim:

1. In combination: a mine skip; sloping rails therefor; fore, aft andintermediate pairs of wheels adapted to run on said rails; means forfdumping said .skip in response to depression, of said intermediate wheels; a depressed extent in said -rails; auxiliar y railsbeside said first mentioned rails sloping past said depressed extent; and auxiliary flanges on said-fore andaftpairs, of.,wheels .25 adapted to contact said auxiliary rails.v

2. A combination as claimedin claim- 1 wherein said auxiliary flanges are of smaller diametenthan the sloping rail contacting portions of said wheels.

3. In combination, a pair of main rails, a pair of auxiliary rails beside said rnain rails over an extent; a V mine skip frame, fore and aft pairs of wheels on said frame adapted to run on said main rails and provided withauxiliary flanges to also run on said auxiliary rails;

a material handling bin pivotally mounted at one end-.':

on said skip frame and supported at the other end by a pair of intermediate wheels adapted to run on said main rails independently of said auxiliary rails; said skip frame and bin being so constructed that said material handling bin is closed when the rail contacting surfaces of said pair of intermediate wheels are respectively aligned with the rail contacting surfaces of said pair of fore and aft wheels and so constructed that said material handling bin is open for dumping the contents when the rail contacting. surfaees-ofhsaid pair of intermediate wheels is below thelinesjoining the;respective rail contacting surfaces of said pairs of fore and aft wheels, said extent being designed so that said auxiliary-rails are higher than said mainrailswherebydumping of the bin may take place.

4. A combination as claimed in claim 3 including a member necessarily movable with respect to said bin to a l wvd impina h ree st l ek a m p ta y; o n ed on said skip frame movable into contact-;- witl 1 a stop on d.membe et m ev tath .moy ment e eo Referenees cited in the. file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS Switzerland J an;- 2, 

